Sealing glands



March 4, 1958 A. B. F. G. RICHARDSON ETAL 2,525,589

A itam e ys March 4, 1958 A. 13. G. RICHARDSON ET AL 2,825,589

, SEALING GLANDS Filed Oct. 1.2, 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Zi j 2j l if unif 7 if' 24 K 2%! /f fill/ 9 SEALING GLANDS Arthur Bruce FraserGillespie Richardson, Lancashire, andRonaid Hinds, Cheshire, England,assignors to British Insulated Callenders Cables Limited, London,England, a British company Application Qctober 12, 1955, Serial No.540,162

Claims priority, application Great Britain October 18, 1954 Thisinvention relates to sealing glands for limiting the escape of uid undersuper-atmospheric pressure from a vessel through an outlet in the wallof the vessel during the passage therethrough of an insulated wire orcable or other elongated body of substantially unifcrm crosssectionalong its length, all of which elongated bodies are hereinafter includedin the term cable In particular 1t is concerned with such sealing glandsas comprise `one or more than one conical soft rubber bush mounted 1n ahousing and pointing in the direction of travel of the cable and havingat its apex a central aperture for the passage of the cable. By thepresent invention we provide an improved sealing gland. In this glandthe conical soft rubber bush is surrounded by an annular chamber havinga wall of soft rubber on which pressure can be exerted by fluid in thechamber to cause such wall to bear resiliently upon the conical bush toreduce its bore and maintain it in contact with the surface of the cablepassing through it.

In this specification where the context permits the term rubber includesnatural and synthetic rubber and other polymeric compounds or mixturesof polymeric compounds, which are rubbery and elastic at the operatingtemperatures of the gland and otherwise suitable for the purpose inview.

The tip of the soft rubber bush may be of a rubber or other materialthat is harder or more wear-resisting material than the rubber of whichthe body of the bush is made. In such cases the tip, which is mouldedinto the main part of the bush, may be provided with radial slots to addflexibility and facilitate its closure on the insulated wire or cable.

The annular chamber may be formed by a tube of soft rubber the outerpart of the wall of which is directly or indirectly supported by thehousing in which the soft rubber bush is mounted or it may be a tube theinner part of the wall of which is of soft rubber and the outer part ofthe wall of which is of relatively rigid material, for instance, hardrubber, a plastic or metal, and capable of supporting without materialdistention the internal pressure exerted on it by the fluid within thetube. ln the latter event the inner and outerparts of the wall may bepermanently united or be separable but adapted to make compressionjoints with one another at their adjoining circumferentially extendingedges. Provision may be made for the admission of iluid under pressureto the tube at a number of points around its periphery but since thetube is entirely or substantially an hermetically closedchamber this isnot essential for the obtaining of uniform pressure on the soft rubberbush.

Sealing glands constructed in accordance with the invention aredescribed hereinafter in more detail by way of example and withreference to the accompany drawings wherein:

Figure l is a sectional view of a gland arranged at the outlet from acontinuous vulcanisation machine;

Figure 2 is a view in part section of a portion of the arrangement shownin Figure l; Y

Claims.

United States Patent "ice Figure 3 is a sectional view on the linelll-III and as seen in the direction of the arrows in Figure 1;

Figure 4 is a sectional view of a modification of the arrangement shownin the previously mentioned figures;

Figure 5 shows a modified form of the conical bush; and

Figure 6 is a view in the direction of the arrow VI in Figure 5.

Referring iirst of al1 to Figures 1, 2 and 3, the improved sealing glandcomprises a housing in the form of a hollow cylinder 1 having at one endan end wall 2 with a central aperture 3. The central aperture 3 providesfor the passage of a cable in the form of a rubber-covered wire from theend of a tubular fluid-filled pressure chamber 4 in a continuousvulcanisation machine. The cylindrical member 1 is attached to the endof the chamber 4 by screw couplings 5 and 6. Within the cylinder 1 thereis centrally located a conical soft rubber bush 7 which provides apassage tapering from the end which is adjacent to the aperture 3towards the other end 8. At the smaller end the tapered passage iscontinued as a passage 9 extending through the tip l@ of the bush 7 withits walls substantially parallelto the axis. The bush 7 is provided atits end of larger diameter with an externally projecting ange 11 whichprovides for the central location of the bush 7 in the cylinder 1. Theange 11 is clamped between the apertured end wall 2 and a side wall 18of a member 15, described below, under pressure exerted by an axiallyadjustable clamping member 12 which is in screw threaded engagement withthe internal wall of the cylinder 1 at its open end 13. The conicalrubber bush 7 is surrounded by an annual chamber 14 which is disposedbetween the ange 11 of the bush and the clamping member 12. The chamber14 is formed, as shown in Figure 2, of a ring 15 of soft rubber havingin its external surface an annular groove 16 which is closed by a metalring 17, this ring serving as a distance piece between the side walls 18and 19 of the groove 16. The bore of the soft rubber ring 15 comprises aconverging portion 20 corresponding in shape and diameter to theexternal surface of the conical rubber bush 7 which it surrounds. Fromthe apex 10 of the conical bush 7 the bore of the ring 15 againincreases in diameter to form a conical or bell-mouthed outlet 21. Agroup 22 of washers form a distance piece placed between theV clampingmember 12 and the adjacent end face of the soft rubber ring 15. Ontightening the clamping member 12 by screwing it into the cylinder 1,pressure tight joints are made between the ange 11 of the conical bush 7and the end wall 2 of its housing, between ilange 11 and the side wall18 of the rubber ring 15 and between the latter and the housing 1. Themetal ring 17 has in its external surface a shallow circumferentiallyextending recess 23. Circumferentially spaced holes 24 lead from thebott-om of this recess 23 to the interior of the toroidal chamber 14. Inthe cylindrical wall 1 of the housing there are providedcircumferentially spaced holes 25 leading into the recess 23 from asimilar recess 26 in the external surface of the housing wall. Thisenables fluid supplied under pressure, through an entry 27 in thesupport for the housing 1, into the outer recess 26 to have accessthrough the holes 25 and 24 to the interior of the annular chamber 14irrespective of the angular position of that chamber in its housing. Thepressure exerted by the fluid in the annular chamber 14 causes the softrubber wall of the chamber to bear resiliently upon the conical v bush 7so as to reduce the bore 9 at the apex 16 and maintively movingcontiguous surfaces of the cable and bush.

` Y 'the 'softrubber ring 15. iThere isl'also :provided *i 'erelarepro-V 6. These ande-other seals are'morefully described Y* thespecification ofthe said ofpending application.

What we claim as ourinvention is: Y Y Y 1. A sealing gland Ikforrruseatf anvoutlert in al wallof a vesselto limitrescapeeofnid-un'derepressnre fronathe` Y vessel duringthepassage-ofl1agablelthrcmghtheoutlet,

Y said@glaiidaconiprising ahousing, VAaffconical'irnblnerzbush rubberringflS frombeing forced inwards 'd 'toithe'id f lextension 33YisYcontinued beyond the sea ngfo ringYV 'f30`by a"--p`ortion34 having"aninwardly :tapering ulfacev *which Y'provides anV additionalr's'npport vinside he fdi'sta'nce'fipieee 335 located; between 'lthe angY'resisting material than thefijubber ofivliic ilitate the closure ofthe'tip on tothe ca ljle. 'Y vellolisingfor thef'c'oncal that is the''cylindrical suitvable for molinting'; inthe ending :U."' S."application'a Serial 'insertion' of th new between; an; @peni diroeilanden; pensile haslthe' rY mounted infsaidhousing-Fand; pointing"in-thedireetion Y ofv travel of the'cable'.saidLbnsh'.beingcentrallyapertured at its apex fonrthe ,passageVofltheable, aannularengjVV jber which-z-fsgurnounds said bnsnh@saiclfenclos'rehavin'g `Va.V i

soft rubberwall andfbeingadaptedi-toreceive uid underf i VpressureYwherebysaidv softfrrubherwallcan -be cauhsed'ltpV-v` Y pressresilientlyffupo'n"said"blsh;'and*said (bush being ,Q Yradiallywtje/divisible;unclerrf gsnh 'rresilienti pressure l' tepi'ess Y Y `thegapexsofct-he Tbusliafizitsggc :ontact ape' f th e outlet,y f' i shapeand diameter to the external surface of the bush and a divergng conicalportion increasing in diameter from the region of the apex of the bushto form a conical outlet.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS KilmerOct. 10, 1933 Fortune Oct. 14, 1941 Davis Ian. 5, 1943 Reich July 19,1949 Walker Apr. 10, 1951

